


In The Name of Love

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Category: The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Series
Genre: College AU, Confessions of love, Drama, F/M, Modern AU, Pining, archaeology students, just some college students pining for each other, no actual mummy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-18 06:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10610958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: Rick O'Connell is a college student who is hopelessly in love with Evy Carnahan, his brilliant friend who's also a genius in archaeology. Will he ever muster up the courage to tell her how he really feels? Or will her brother Jonathan always butt in the minute something is about to happen between them? And what part will the upcoming class trip to Cairo for an archaeology dig play?





	

**Author's Note:**

> HOOOOO BOY

Rick O’Connell was about to die. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened. And, if he somehow made it out of this alive, it certainly wouldn't be the last.  
He was pinned against a wall, a large knife held to his neck by a real brute of a man. A different guy, some squirrelly little man who clearly only followed the larger man for a taste of power, pawed through Rick’s bag. He didn't seem to be happy with what he found.  
“How come all you have in here is a bunch of textbooks, some gum, and a knife?” The squirrelly man said in a voice that matched his exterior.  
“I’m a college student. What do you expect?” Rick said. He tried to assess whether or not there was a way in which he could somehow get the knife on his neck away from his neck. There didn't seem to be any safe, non-fatal way to do so.  
“A college student?” The large one said. “You look like you're in your thirties.”  
Rick sighed. “Wow. Thanks.”  
The small one held up Rick’s debit card. “Wait a minute. If you're a college student, that means…”  
“Yep. I'm broke.” Rick replied. “I've got no more than $3 on that card. My metro pass is probably worth more than that.”  
“So what you're saying is, stealing anything from you is more trouble than it's worth.” The large one said.  
“That’s about right.” Rick was extraordinarily laid-back. He had no real reason to be worried. He was dirt poor, and these two assholes wouldn't risk a murder charge on their hands.  
The large one seemed to be weighing their options. He pulled the knife away slightly, and Rick saw his chance to escape. In an instant, he had twisted the knife out of the man’s hand, throwing him headfirst into the wall. The man crumpled to the floor, leaving Rick to face off one on one with the smaller one. The smaller one, however, was already bolting down the street.  
Rick picked his bag up off of the ground and sighed. Apparently the only thing the guy had taken off with was his metro pass. He probably shouldn't have advertised it that much. Luckily, he did have more than $3 on his debit card, so he could just buy a new metro pass. But that didn't help now. Now he would have to walk home. At least he had a new knife.  
The sun was setting, silhouetting the city of London in a shroud of gold, pink, and orange. It was rather pretty, but Rick was more focused on the fact that his feet were about to fall off. Why did he ever decide to live off campus.  
Suddenly, he heard the sound of a horn honking behind him. Turning, he realized that it was his friend Evy Carnahan, on a little motorbike which looked like it had been used in World War Two. She grinned widely at Rick, and he felt his heart rate begin to pick up. Of course. It had to be her.  
Rick had had a crush on Evy ever since the start of their archeology course. He always expected to grow out of it, but as he got to know her, he realized his crush was slowly evolving into a feeling of love. She was the perfect woman. Funny, cute, and extremely intelligent. And Rick, of course, would never tell her how he felt. He didn't know whether or not his feelings were reciprocated, and they had a good friendship going. He didn't want to ruin that.  
“Rick! I thought you normally take the metro home.” Evy said, pulling up beside him.  
“I do. My train pass was stolen, so I figured I'd walk.” He shifted his weight. “Which was a mistake.”  
“I can drive you home.” She said. “Just tell me where you live.”  
He raised an eyebrow. “Is that legal? Didn't you just get your license?”  
“I’m not sure, to be honest.” She glanced at her motorbike. “But I’m a good driver. And not like anyone's going to ask.”  
He shrugged. “Good point.”  
Before he knew it, they were speeding off towards his house. She was a good driver, but she drove rather fast. Hopefully no police officers would notice that.  
He had his arms wrapped around her torso so as not to fall off the small bike. He couldn't help but notice the fact that she smelled faintly of lilacs, and he hoped that she couldn't tell that his heart was racing faster than the bike.  
When they approached his apartment building a few minutes later, Rick realized he didn't want to leave. He had schoolwork to do, sure, but being with Evy always brightened his day. How could he prolong this?  
The bike came to a stop, and Rick got off. He glanced up at his apartment building, and then back at Evy.  
“Uh, hey, Evy.” He said shakily. “You wanna… come in for a drink, or something?”  
She smiled sadly. “Sorry, Rick, but I have a lot of work to do.” She paused. “Have you submitted your application for the Cairo trip? It's due tomorrow.”  
Oh yeah. That. He had to do that. “I was going to do that tonight.”  
For a moment, they locked eyes, and Rick got the urge to kiss her. He could tell she was thinking something, too, but whether or not it was the same thing, he didn't know.  
Suddenly, the moment was shattered by Evy’s brother, Jonathan, driving up behind them and loudly honking the horn. Jonathan was… well, he was just about the exact opposite of Evy. He could read Egyptian hieroglyphs just as well as she could, and was in all of the advanced courses like her, but that was where the resemblance stopped. Jonathan was always a little reckless, willing to bet it all in a game of poker he was likely cheating at. Rick had always found Jonathan a little odd. Why waste all of your intellect on poker? You could at least be doing something productive, like selling answers to the homework for money.  
Nonetheless, whenever Rick thought he might have a chance with Evy, Jonathan was always there interrupting. Whether it's breaking them up on the dance floor (yelling “MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS,” while dressed as Jesus), or always calling Evy asking her to bail him out of jail for instigating fights. No matter what they were doing, Jonathan was there too. Rick didn't dislike Jonathan, but he just wanted him to stay out of the way.  
“Ello, Rick! Evy!” He yelled from his pre-owned Nissan Altima.  
Rick sighed. “Hi Jonathan. What brings you here.”  
“I wanted to stop by and say hello!” He said, grinning. “We’re friends, aren't we?”  
Evy frowned. “What do you need, Jonathan?”  
His smile fell, and he glanced over his shoulder warily. “I borrowed $400 from this bloke, and I have to pay him back by… now.”  
Evy rolled her eyes. “Of course.” She paused. “Wait, don't you have enough money to pay that? Don't tell me you blew all of your money again.”  
He shrugged. “Well, technically, yes, but I still have $20 in emergency funds stashed away in my shoe.”  
Rick had enough money to give him, but the thing was, Jonathan wasn't exactly good at paying people back. If he gave him $400, he would likely not see that $400 again. Or he'd see it in the form of several cheap nick-nacks, mailed to his apartment in beat-up cardboard boxes.  
“Alright, I’ll give you the money.” Rick said. “But you have to promise me something, and if you don't promise me it, I will shoot you in the knee.”  
“Cross my heart.” Jonathan said, motioning across his chest.  
“Promise me you'll pay me back.” He said menacingly. “Within the week.”  
Jonathan nodded. “Of course, Rick! You know I’m good on my word!”  
Evy raised an eyebrow. “No, you're not. You still owe me $70 and a bottle of champagne from that time…”  
“Ehhe… right…” He chuckled hesitantly. “Let's try to forget about that…”  
“How can I forget?” Evy started to yell. “You left my apartment a mess!”  
Jonathan held up a finger. “Well, you see, that was not entirely my fault, technically it was the stripper’s fault.”  
Before the conversation could get any more uncomfortable, Rick escaped into his apartment, pulled together the $400, and handed it to Jonathan. “Alright, Jonathan, just take the money and go.”  
He leaned out of the car window and snatched the money out of Rick’s hand. “Thank you.” His expression turned serious. “I will pay you back. Don't worry.”  
Rick nodded. “Alright, man.” He clapped him on the shoulder reassuringly.  
And with that, Jonathan drove away, restoring the awkwardness and tension of the moment before.  
“So, uh,” Evy said, “guess I'll head home then.”  
“Right. Yeah.” Rick replied. “See you.”  
She gave him a slight smile. “Until tomorrow.”

Rick awoke alone. Of course he did. He always awoke alone. No matter how much he might've longed to be with someone, he ended up alone.  
He checked his phone as he dragged himself out of bed. One missed call and thirteen missed texts from Evy. Something must've happened, or else she wouldn't have texted him so much.  
He glanced over the texts. From what he could piece together, Jonathan wasn't answering his phone, and Evy was getting worried. This happened a lot. Jonathan would disappear, usually off to a casino or something, get absolutely shitfaced, and not answer his calls. It wasn't fair to Evy, since she always got worried about him, even though the same thing happened every time.  
He punched in her number and called her. She picked up on the first ring, clearly distraught.  
“Rick! My arsehole of a brother is off doing god knows what god knows where again, and I need him to drive me somewhere.” She yelled into the phone.  
Rick ran a hand through his hair. “He’s probably at the casino again. You know how he is.”  
“Yes, but…” She sighed. “I worry about him. He promised he would call this time.”  
“You want me to call him?” Rick said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  
“If you wouldn't mind.” She sounded cute when she was concerned. “And tell him that when he gets back, I’m going to beat his ass.”  
“You got it.” He knew she wouldn't actually beat his ass. She'd just yell his ear off, until he promised not to do it again. “See you, Evy.”  
“Bye, Rick.” She paused. “Don't forget the Cairo form.” And then, she hung up.  
“Right. The Cairo form. I’ll remember that.” He muttered into the air.  
He punched Jonathan’s number into the phone. It rang a few times, and then went to voicemail. It wasn't out of the ordinary, so Rick left a strongly worded voicemail and hung up.  
His thoughts went to Evy. Should he call her back and tell her that he couldn't reach Jonathan? Or would that just worry her more?  
Either way, he had to cut his pondering short, since his first class was in a half an hour. Dealing with the Carnahan family’s problems took longer than he expected. He threw on some clothes that didn't smell too bad, grabbed his book bag, and dashed out the door, crossing his fingers and hoping he wouldn't be late.  
And then he remembered. His metro pass had been stolen. Of course. Now he was guaranteed to be late.  
He dashed down the street, pushing past pedestrians and almost slamming into mailboxes, in a mad, hopeless attempt to get to class on time. He began to run out of breath when he reached the building. But suddenly, he got a second wind when he saw the professor walking into the door. There was but one thing to do. He had to climb the building.  
His hands gripped the rough brick of the building, slowly pulling him up floor by floor. Of course his class had to be on the highest floor. Why wouldn’t it be. His fingers were raw and bruised by the time he finally reached the window of his classroom. He rapped his hand on the window, alerting the attention of the students inside. Evy quickly ran over and opened the window, giving Rick a hand and pulling him in. She was far stronger than she looked.  
“Rick, what on earth are you doing?” Evy exclaimed once Rick was safely within the classroom.  
Rick took a moment to regain his breath. “Had to beat the professor to class. That was the only reasonable way to do it.”  
Evy raised an eyebrow. “Reasonable?”  
Before she could accost him for his reckless behavior, the professor walked into class. His jaw dropped when he saw Rick standing in front of the open window.  
“Mr. O’Connell, last I saw, you were outside.” The professor said. “How did you get in here?”  
“Teleported, Professor.” Rick said, cracking a smile.  
The professor shook his head. “Well, however you did it, don’t do it again.”  
Rick gave him a mocking salute. “Yessir, Professor.” Then, he remembered the one important thing in his bag. The Cairo form. He quickly pulled it out and handed it to the professor. It had coffee stains on it, alongside a few rips, but all of the legalees were there.  
Rick sat at his respective seat beside Evy, who just shook her head at his antics. On the other side of him sat a man named Ardeth Bay. Ardeth was unmistakably attractive, even in Rick’s eyes. He was quiet and had only spoken to Rick once or twice, but he was clearly intelligent, and had the most powerful arms Rick had ever seen, alongside some tattoos in arabic which Rick couldn’t quite read. He tried plugging them into google translate once, only to realize it was some older, more ancient form of arabic that even google couldn’t translate.  
“Smooth moves there, O’Connell.” Ardeth said, in his slightly arabic accent. “Where’d you learn to climb like that?”  
Rick crossed his arms, attempting to look cool. “Boy Scouts. Was the top of my pack in rock climbing. Even won some awards for it.”  
“You won awards…” Evy said, “For rock climbing.”  
“Yeah. It seemed cool at the time.” Rick said, shrugging.  
Evy just shook her head again. He thought his rock climbing achievements were impressive, and Ardeth apparently thought so too, but he just couldn’t impress Evy, no matter how hard he tried. He had done a plethora of somewhat reckless things throughout his time in college, all in an attempt to impress her, and each time it fell short. He didn’t quite know why, though. Sure, it would probably be easier to just give her some flowers and tell her how he feels, but Rick was never a simple man in any terms. Everything he did was always a little over the top. 

A week later, Rick was sitting in the neighborhood coffee shop, contemplating other things he could do to impress Evy over a cup of strong coffee. Well, that wasn't the only thing he was thinking about, but it was the main subject on his conflicted young mind. He realized there was no longer any way he could deny to himself that he was in love with her. Now, his problem was whether or not to tell her or to keep doing stupid, reckless things in an attempt to get her attention.  
Of course, just to add insult to injury, Evy walked into the coffee shop, shattering Rick’s concentration. She waved at him, before going up to the barista and ordering a chai tea latte.  
“I didn't expect to find you here, Rick.” Evy said cheerily.  
“I needed a jolt of caffeine to prepare me for the French test I have at 9.” Rick said.  
Evy sat down across from him. “Do you want some help studying?”  
“No, I think I've got it.” He paused. “But thanks anyway.”  
“Rick, is there something wrong?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.  
He shook his head. “Nope. Nothing. I'm just a little tired, that's all.”  
She leaned across the table, causing his heart rate to pick up. “Rick, I can tell when you're upset. Tell me what’s wrong.”  
A list of plausible excuses were running through his head. He couldn't just tell her, in this coffee shop, that he was hopelessly in love with her. Could he? Was he taking too long to think of an excuse? He probably was.  
He finally said the first one that came to mind. “My… uh… fish died.”  
Evy could clearly tell that he was lying. “Alright then. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine.” She paused. “But I hope you know you can trust me with whatever secrets you have. We have been friends for a while.”  
Rick nodded silently.  
“Wait a second.” Evy said. “I bet you I can guess what's wrong with you.”  
He shrugged. “Alright. Go ahead.”  
“You’re in love, aren't you?”  
He was surprised at how quickly she guessed it. Of course, he had noticed that women tended to be more observant on the subject than men.  
But now he had hit a wall. She knew he was in love. But she didn't know who with. He could lie, say he was in love with someone else, like Ardeth (I mean, it was reasonable, Ardeth was very attractive), or he could just tell her, honestly, how he felt about her.  
Luckily, something interrupted his long bout of awkward silence. Unluckily, it was Jonathan. He looked very hungover, with bags under his eyes, but was also smiling like a maniac.  
“Ello gang!” Jonathan said excitedly. “You'll never guess how well I did at the casino!”  
Rick rolled his eyes. “You… blew all your money and now have to move in with Evy?”  
Jonathan shook his head. “No, in fact, quite the opposite! I did very well at the baccarat table. So well, in fact, that I bought you both gifts!”  
He reached into his backpack and pulled out two small paper boxes and handed one to each of them. After a moment of hesitation, Rick opened the box. It contained a large, hideous silver Rolex, which obviously cost an absurd amount of money. Looking over, he saw that Evy had a slightly smaller gold Rolex, equally as hideous.  
Rick smirked. “Wow, thanks Jonathan. How could I have lived without this enormous watch?”  
Jonathan beamed. “I know, right? They're somewhat hideous, but they're Rolexes, so they're cool! I have one too.” He held out his wrist, revealing a watch even larger and uglier than Rick’s.  
Evy said nothing, but instead gave Jonathan a look of extreme skepticism.  
“I told you guys I'd pay you back!” Jonathan said, not noticing their apparent dislike for the watches.  
“When you said you'd pay us back,” Rick muttered, “I thought you meant with cash.”  
Jonathan shook his head. “These are better than cash!”  
He checked his enormous, ugly watch. “Well, would you look at the time. I've gotta run. You two enjoy yourselves, now!” He said, before dashing out of the coffee shop.  
Rick looked at Evy and raised an eyebrow. “What do you think goes on in his head?”  
Evy sighed. “Not much. These are fakes. I didn't have the heart to tell him.”  
“Really?” Rick picked the watch up and looked it over. “How can you tell?”  
She took the watch from him and turned it over. “They're good fakes, but they are fake. You can tell from the underside. It says Rollex, with two L’s.”  
“Wow. That kind of sucks.” Rick said.  
“Would you actually have worn it?” Evy asked quizzically.  
Rick laughed. “Absolutely not. The thing’s hideous.”  
Evy smiled. “Well, you definitely are right about that.”  
And then, it happened again. The awkward moment, where the conversation could go no further. Where it was just the two of them, locked in their own little world, unable to tell the other how they really felt just because of their own personal pride. They were at a stalemate. And, unless one of them broke the stalemate, they would spend their entire time in college pining for each other in a long, painful, heart-wrenching dance. 

It was a few weeks later. They still hadn't told each other how they felt. And Rick was worried that they never would. However, something was about to disrupt their dance. The Cairo trip.  
It was to be a five week trip to Cairo, Egypt, for an archeological dig led by one of the professors. As they were both in the advanced archeology class, both of them were going. Evy was hugely beneficial to the trip, as she could read ancient Egyptian. Rick went so he could see what a real archeological dig was like, and maybe spend some more time with Evy. Jonathan was going too, but why, Rick didn't know. Rick could never fully understand Jonathan’s motives. Sure, it'd be good to have another person who speaks ancient Egyptian fluently on the trip, but still. Jonathan was not the studious, nor the archeological type. He either had some ulterior motives for going, or he just wanted to see if Egypt had different types of alcohol from Britain. In fact, Jonathan was the only person going who wasn't in their archeology class. Ardeth was going too, so maybe Rick could ask him to keep Jonathan out of their way.  
The young archeology students (and Jonathan) sat in the airport, awaiting their flight. Rick sat across from Evy, pretending to be engrossed in something on his phone, and was definitely not staring at the way her lips curved, or how she always managed to get her eyeliner perfect.  
Naturally, Jonathan sat beside Rick, and next to him was Ardeth. Jonathan seemed… well, not quite scared of Ardeth, but somewhat intrigued by him. Good. Then maybe he would stay out of the way.  
Rick didn't realize he had fallen asleep until Evy shook him awake.  
“Rick! Wake up! We’re going to miss our flight!” She said frantically.  
Rick sat up. “What? What time is it?”  
“It’s 3:00! Our flight started boarding ten minutes ago!” She took a step back and anxiously ran a hand through her hair. “I fell asleep too.”  
Rick grabbed his bag, and together they dashed towards the gates… which were already closed.  
“You have to let us on that plane!” Rick yelled to the man working at the gate. “Our entire class is on that flight!”  
The man shook his head. “You guys are going to have to wait for the next flight to Cairo, which is at…” He tapped the computer screen in front of him. “8:40.”  
“8:40?” Evy exclaimed in her charming British accent. “Why, that’s six hours from now! Why can’t you just let us on this one?”  
“That’s the rules. We can give you complimentary drink vouchers, if you want. Help pass the time.”  
Evy balled up her fists. “No, I demand you let us on this flight!”  
Rick placed a hand on her shoulder hesitantly. “Maybe we should let this one go. The man’s just doing his job. Even if he is terrible.”  
Evy glanced between Rick and the gate man. Finally, she seemed to decide she would be better off not getting into a fight at the airport. The gate man held out the drink vouchers, and Evy ripped them out of his hands and stormed off towards the airport bar. Rick followed her a few feet behind, not wanting to encounter the wrath of an angry Evy.  
She sat down on a stool and put her head in her hands. Rick sat beside her, trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t mess things up more.  
“Hey, uh… it’s not your fault.” He said, stuttering.  
She shook her head. “But it is! If I had only woken up a few minutes earlier…”  
“Evy.” He put his hand on her shoulder again, this time in a more caring way. “Why is this bothering you so much?”  
She sighed, and Rick could see tears glistening in her eyes. “I just… I’ve been looking foreword to this trip for months, and I had this whole plan of things that I would do, and now that plan is just completely dashed.”  
He rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. “Well, we will get there eventually. And besides, sometimes it’s fun to break off from your plans and live a little.”  
“Oh, you’re right.” She pulled out a tissue and wiped the tears out of her eyes. “I’m just overtired.”  
Rick smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I had a friend once, she missed her flight at 5 in the morning. Let me tell you, that was not fun.”  
She gave a slight laugh. “I can see why.”  
She slipped her hand into his, and he hoped she couldn’t tell how fast his heart was racing. Her fingers were cold, and it sent a chill through him for more reasons than one. He realized that he wanted things to be like this forever.  
After a moment, he muttered, “I love you, Evy.”  
Of course. The moment was shattered.  
Or was it?

“What?” She sat back and looked him right in the eye.  
Oh no. He had blown it. Complete buffoonery. And he couldn’t take back what he had said. She had heard him profess his love for her.  
“I said ‘I love you.’” He said, more confidently this time. It felt good, to get it off his chest.  
“Rick, I…” Evy looked bewildered. “I don’t know what to say.”  
Rick felt as though his heart had just been shot, and then ripped out of his chest, balled up, and slam dunked into a trash compactor. “I’m sorry, I just… I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I needed to tell you how I feel. And if you don’t feel the same, well, I can transfer, or…”  
“No, I don’t want you to have to do that, Rick.” He could tell she was choosing her words carefully. “I… I think I have feelings for you, too. But I don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship. I just have so much schoolwork, and…” Her voice trailed off.  
Well, it was better than nothing. “That’s fine.” He paused. “I can wait. Until you’re ready.”  
She looked relieved. “Thank you, Rick. I like you. I really do. I’m just not ready.”  
And there it was again. That awkward silence. But the slow, complex, long-winded dance, the stalemate between their emotions, was starting to lessen. She knew how he felt. It was only a matter of time.

**Author's Note:**

> I might continue this honestly I'm SO happy with how it came out


End file.
